Blazes of Glory

In early September, I told you about my high hopes for gathering with our kids and grandkids to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary on October 1. I explained how the deck seemed stacked against us from its initial planning stages, with everything from Covid restrictions to venue changes and other wrenches thrown into the mix. I tried hard to hold it all lightly, lest it be swept away.

Then I left you hanging. I sincerely apologize if you’ve bitten your nails down to the knuckles waiting to hear how that all turned out.

I could write an entire series of columns about our shenanigans, but ain’t nobody got time for that. I’ll try to limit my highlights to five special things you could adapt for your own family.

1. Family Olympics. With 11 people, we divided into two teams of five with one “moderator.” Events included naming your team, piggyback, 3-legged, and unicycle races, the eye contact game, cup stacking relay, and a themed pentathlon consisting of five events for which each team selected its champion so that all five members competed in one. Yes, this took a bit of organizing ahead of time but proved well worth it. The results included tons of chortling, cheering, and just the right amount of cheating. Gold or silver-wrapped chocolates were awarded to the teams with the most and second-most accumulated points—a close call with scores of 265 and 255.

2. Love-About Sheets. Brightly colored sheets of paper, one for each family member, covered one wall throughout the weekend. At the top of each were the words, “One thing I love about…” with a person’s name. Even the little kids, with help, wrote what they appreciated about every other person. Afterward, each took their sheet home.

3. Slide Show. I had discovered on my computer a Powerpoint show I’d made for my husband on our 25th anniversary and realized I could resurrect it and simply add photos from the last 20 years. I should have realized that with grads, weddings, babies, and books, we’d have far more to show for the past 20 years than the first 25. The show grew to 20 minutes long and used five of our favorite songs. But when we watched it together, even the youngest stayed to the end. Yep, there were tears.

4. Photo Shoot. My friend and favorite photographer, Gayle Loewen, drove two hours to capture our family in both posed and candid shots. Her excellent results already hang all over our walls and on my social media. What a treasure!

5. Blessings. To honor the value of a more formal and official blessing, we took time to call each person forward to receive spoken words of affirmation, physical touch, and eye contact. Starting with the youngest, each person’s blessing is printed on a tile they can keep. Each envisions a bright future for them and includes a scripture chosen specifically for them. Most of the tears came from Grandpa and me, but when I asked our daughter later if it felt like “too little, too late” from us, her spontaneous answer made my day. “Oh heck, no.”

I could also mention meals, fires, our beautiful surroundings, and awesome weather—as well as the all-too-human, unplanned wrinkles and wobbles that inevitably factor into every convergence of multiple generations. But I’m convinced those three days were the best gift we’ve ever given our family. I titled this column “Blazes of Glory” because I came home feeling like I could die happy. Alas, I’m still here. Email me if you’d like more details on our structured events or our simple but tasty meal plan.